


The Saint and The Serpent

by cryinguncontrolably



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2020-04-05 21:09:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19048450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryinguncontrolably/pseuds/cryinguncontrolably
Summary: Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, or better know as Jughead The Serpent King, has only ever known life as a Serpent on the Southside. He lives with his Mom, Dad and the only person he has a soft spot for, his little sister, Jellybean in the trailer park. When Southside High closes and the Serpents are forced to attend Riverdale High, Jughead has a tough time adjusting, especially when he meets the Northside princess, Betty Cooper.





	1. Switching Schools

**Riverdale High**

_"Good morning Bulldogs! We have an announcement to make this morning as Riverdale's Southside high will be closed as of next Monday, Riverdale High has volunteered to take in most of the students that have been affected. We understand this is a big adjustment for everyone, but we expect all students to give our Southside guests a warm Bulldog welcome!"_

The students ar Riverdale broke out in protest in their seats. Betty and Veronica exchanged a half worried, half disgusted look. "Southside Serpents? At Riverdale?" Veronica scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Heres to hoping they realize what a bad idea that is."

Betty shrugged half heartedly, "Oh I don't know V, it can't be all bad, right?"

V laughed, "Oh come on, Betty. Serpents? In Bulldog territory? We don't need those criminals around here, they're dangerous."

Betty frowned, "I guess..."

* * *

**Southside**

Sweet Pea kicked over the nearest trash can. "Can you believe it? They're shutting down the school! We're being transferred to Riverdale!"

Jughead just sat back in his chair looking bored, "Relax Sweet Pea. Wether its Southside or Riverdale, the Serpents remain united. Stuck up Northsiders change nothing." The Serpent King stood up and lit his cigarette, "I say, come Monday morning, the Serpents show the Bulldogs whose really on top."

"Picking fights already?" Came an amused voice at the door, "We haven't even started school yet."

Jughead turned around, taking a drag from his cig, "Relax Toni," he chuckled, "we're just gonna make sure The Bulldogs know whose boss."

Toni rolled her eyes, "You boys and your petty battles over dominance."

"Oh fuck off Toni, you know you want to teach those Northsiders a lesson just as much as we do. " Sweet Pea teased causing both Toni and Jughead to chuckle.

As the laughter died down, the three Serpents laid back, wondering what Monday morning would bring upon the Serpents.

* * *

**Monday Morning: Jughead Jones**

Jughead awoke to his alarm blaring rather loudly in one ear, and his sister screaming rather loudly in the other. "Forsythe Pendleton Jones III! Wake the **hell** up! You have to take me to school!"

Jughead grumbled, "I'm coming Jellybean, relax." Groaning, he rolled out of bed, turned off the alarm and quickly slid on a pair of ripped jeans and shrugged his Serpents Jacket over his shoulders. He lumbered out and grabbed a piece of toast and his motorcycle keys. He put the piece of toast between his teeth as he laced his dirty boots and grabbed his signature beanie.

"C'mon Jellybean," he mumbled, gesturing outside with his arm.

Jellybean rolled her eyes as she grabbed her backpack, "I **told** you, I go by JB now!"

Jughead smiled softly as he mounted his motorcycle, "Yeah, whatever. Just put your helmet on." JB got on behind Jughead and the two siblings drove off.

:)

Jughead pulled up to his first day at Riverdale High. The first thing he noticed was that the school was much cleaner than Southside. There was no spit in the parking lot and the school had a surprising lack of It lacked the druggies out front he was so used to, instead there stood a group of clean cut football players with letterman's jackets. The Serpent King mentally scoffed at the perfect northside dream school. On the outside it may have looked pretty, but on the Inside Riverdale High was just as rotten as Southside.

As he dismounted his bike, the soft smile he wore for Jellybean was gone and replaced with a mean smirk. The other Serpents rallied behind their king as he sauntered towards the front doors of the school. He paused for a moment to light a cigarette before harshly pushing the doors of Riverdale High open, making his dramatic entrance.

* * *

**Monday Morning: Betty Cooper**

This was the morning. Today, all the students from Southside High were being transferred to Riverdale. Betty sat on her bed nervously, how were the Southside students going to act? Were they really all criminals and druggies like Veronica said? What if they turned Riverdale into another Southside High?

She was jerked out of her thoughts quickly as her phone rang loudly. Betty looked down, seeing the name pop up on the screen made her smile.

_Archie Andrews_

The boy next door had been Betty's crush for years and years. To her, it was the perfect love story. The popular football player falls in love with the clean cut white collar girl next door. They fall in love in highschool after he realizes his childhood friend isn't a little girl anymore and has actually become a beautiful young woman.. They get married and have a big wedding where they dance the night away. Then they have the perfect little family with perfect kids and a perfect life.

Betty quickly picked up her phone, "Hello?" she smiled excitedly.

"Hey," Archie's voice came from over the phone, "I'm out front. We still walking to school together?"

Betty nearly jumped up in joy, "Of course! I'll be out in two seconds!"

Betty raced down the stairs and practically flew out the door, barely pausing to call out a _"bye mom"_ as she slammed the door behind her.

:)

Betty was standing by her locker with Archie. She had yet to run into any Southsiders, but the day was just beginning.

"Betty! Hey I've been meaning to talk to you!" Veronica seemingly glided up to where the two were standing.

Betty's smile faltered slightly, as she tilted her head in curiosity, "Of course V! What's up?"

"Well-"

Before Veronica could finish there was a loud boom as the doors of Riverdale High were slammed open. The three highschooler's heads snapped to look at the front doors. In fact, the entire hall seemed to freeze in anticipation

The first to come through the doors was a handsome lean boy with clean raven locks that fell across his face in just the right fashion. He wore a black leather serpent jacket that screamed danger and worn dark wash jeans, finally, he topped it all off with a dark gray beanie and a cigarette in his mouth. He radiated charismatic confidence and pure temptation, the type of temptation that only the devil himself could offer. He made Betty shift uncomfortably where she stood, but as to why she was so unnerved, she had no clue.

He was followed in by multiple more teens in leather jackets, all bearing serpents on the back. They took a quick look around, becoming familiar with their surroundings. Whether they were accepted or not, it was clear that the serpents were there to stay.

The entire school seemed to be frozen, waiting to see who would make the next move.

Finally, the boy with the raven hair stepped forward, Betty concluded that he must be the leader. The Serpent looked around the halls and smirked, taking the cigarette out of his mouth, "Hello, Riverdale High..."


	2. Pop's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Serpents get into their first big fight, Betty learns a shocking secret and has an interesting conversation with the Serpent King.

**Riverdale High: Betty POV**

The Serpent's brought a thick tension to Riverdale High. There were a few arguments between Bulldogs and Serpents, but nothing serious. Yet.

Betty learned that the boy with the raven hair was known as "Jughead" and that they called him "The Serpent King". _Jughead,_ she thought, _what a peculiar name._ She also learned that Jughead, The Serpent King, was intimidating in every sense of the word. He was exactly the boy her mother warned her about, the type of boy who drags you into his world and never lets you leave. He was the type of boy she was supposed to stay away from at all costs.

They shared a chemistry class, but Jughead sat in the back, not paying attention, and Betty was too busy fawning over Archie Andrews, her lab partner, to notice him.

:)

The first real fight broke out not two weeks after the Southside students transferred. In all honesty, the fight was the Bulldogs fault, but of course the precious football team could never be held accountable for any of their actions.

The Bulldogs were out for blood. Serpent blood more specifically. Of course it was Reggie who started the fight, but Betty was upset to find that Archie Andrews himself had taken part in such uncouth behavior.

"Hey snake!" Reggie called mockingly.

Toni Topaz looked up from her English paper to see Reggie, Archie, and the other bulldogs standing before her.

Reggie stepped closer so that he was towering over Toni, "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Medusa." He took the paper out of Toni's hand and gave it to Archie who ripped it in half, "Where's your little gang? Not so tough without them, huh?"

Toni just glared up at Reggie from her seat, holding her ground, "You're not so tough even **with** your gang."

Reggies lip turned up into a snarl as he edged closer to the Serpent, "Wanna see how tough I am, bitch?"

Toni finally stood up, and pushed Reggie away from her, "Maybe I do, **bitch**."

Betty expected Reggie to push back, or even hit the girl, but he instead turned his back to her. He paused for a second, as if contemplating his next move. "Boys, let's show the little whore what we do to snakes in Bulldog territory." Betty was horrified to see two Bulldogs come forward and grab both of Toni's arms, restraining her.

Toni kicked out at both Bulldogs, "Hey! What are you psychos doing? Let me go!" Reggie turned around and sucker punched her in the stomach, causing her to lose her breath.

"We're giving you a warm Riverdale welcome," he snarled between clenched teeth.

"Y-you hit... like... my... grandma," Toni wheezed out, causing Reggie to let out a feral growl and grab her face with his hand. Betty saw Toni swallow, hard. "If-f you were a real man... you'd fight me one on one."

Reggie just scoffed, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Reggie threw the girl to the floor. Immediately causing the bulldogs to attack like feral beasts. Betty went to take a step forward, only to be stopped by Veronica.

"She's just a snake Betty. She's not worth your while."

Betty was about to respond when he appeared out of nowhere, Jughead Jones. The Serpent King. His entrance was silent and he didn't bother with any arguments. He instead made a beeline for Reggie, grabbing him by his neck and pushing him back against the wall. Before Reggie could so much as blink, there was a hand on his throat and he was being choke slammed into the wall, the bulldogs all froze waiting to see what their leader did.

"Call. Them. Off." Jughead's voice was deep and commanding, and Betty could feel the concentrated anger radiating off of him. Reggie tried to push back, only to be re-slammed into the wall. "I _said_ Call. Them. Off. _NOW._ I don't like having to repeat myself."

When Reggie still made no move to call off the Bulldogs attacking Toni, Jughead smiled wickedly, "Alright guys, let's show them what happens to Bulldogs who mess with the Serpents."

As soon as his command was finished, Serpents began to fill the room. Some went for Toni's assailants, others went for the rest of the Bulldogs. Blue was quickly drowned out by black leather. Soon, two Serpents turned their heads towards Archie Andrews. As they stalked towards him both Betty and Veronica reached for him.

"Archie!"  
" **Archiekins**!"

Betty looked at Veronica incredulously, "Archiekins? Since when do you call him Archiekins?"

Veronica turned to Betty and smiled nervously, "Can we talk at Pop's after school?"

**"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"**

Reggie pushed Jughead off him and scrambled to his feet, "P-principal Wetherbee! W-we, We were just minding our own business and... and the Serpents attacked us!"

" **BULLSHIT**!" Roared Jughead.

Principal Wetherbee's head turned to look at the Serpent King. "Jones. My Office. Now."

* * *

**Pop's Diner**

The three friends sat down in a booth at Pop's and ordered three milkshakes like they always did. While Betty and Veronica usually sat on one side with Archie sitting across from, Betty noticed that this time, she was the one sitting across from Archie and Veronica.

"Ummm, what's up guys?" Betty asked nervously.

Her two best friends exchanged a look, "B, we... have something to tell you." Veronica put her hand on top of Archies.

Betty felt her heart drop to her stomach, _no, please no,_ she prayed to herself.

"Archiekins and I are dating... we have been for about two weeks now. We know we should have told you sooner... but we were just waiting for the right time to tell you, y'know?"

Betty's chest tightened, she tried to speak but she found that no words would come out. Betty swallowed, hard, before standing up and racing out of Pop's, leaving her milkshake behind. She could hear her heart racing and tears brimmed her eyes. She faintly heard V call out for her, but at this point, Betty couldn't care less. She pushed the doors to Pop's open and raced down the stairs. She was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn't bother to look before crossing the street, she could only think about Archie. and Veronica. and the two of them. together.

"JUGGIE LOOK OUT!"

Betty looked up to see motorcycle headlights through her blurred vision. Before she could move, the motorcycle swerved to the side and came to a harsh stop.

"Watch where the fuck you're going!" the biker snarled.

On a normal day, Betty would have had some sassy remark for the Southsider, but today was not her day. She started to apologize, only for the tears she had been holding back to finally fall down her cheeks.

* * *

**Jughead Jones**

Jughead was on his way to Pop's with his little sister Jellybean. He had somehow let her convince him to get milkshakes at the Northside diner. She claimed they were, "to die for".

As they neared the diner Jughead didn't see the blond girl in a pink sweater run out into the middle of the street. "JUGGIE LOOK OUT!" Jellybean screeched.

The Serpent King swore and swerved right, hitting the brakes. He checked to make sure Jellybean was okay before hopping off the bike. "Watch where the fuck you're going!" He snarled, probably a little more harshly than he should've.

Jughead expected the girl to either shrink back in fear, or apologize profusely, or even maybe give him a touch of attitude. What he didn't expect was for the girl to fall to the ground and break down into tears.

Jellybean quickly dismounted the bike and hit his arm with her helmet, "Jughead!" she scolded him, "Look what you did!" Jellybean walked towards the crying girl, "Hey." she said softly. The girl looked up at the 12 year old through her tears. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, still crying.

The 12 year old smiled, "My names Jellybean, but you can call me JB, this is my brother Jughead," she gestured at Jughead, who just rolled his eyes and lit a cigarette. "Ignore him, what's your name?"

The girl sniffed and wiped her eyes, "B-Betty. Betty Cooper."

"Nice to meet you Betty," JB smiled. "Do you want to come get a milkshake with my brother and I?" Jughead choked on the smoke he inhaled.

"Oh," Betty half laughed half sobbed, "No, it's okay."

"Leave it alone Jelly, _Princess_ probably has better things to do," Jughead took another drag from his cig.

"Juggie stop being a dick." If Jellybean's words had any effect on the Serpent, he didn't show it. "First you make her cry, now you're being an ass."

Jughead took his cigarette out of his mouth and reached for his back pocket. "Please Jelly, as if a Northsider would ever give a shit about us, now get your milkshake so we can leave." He took a ten out of his wallet and held it out for JB to take.

"But-"

" _Now_ Jellybean." Jellybean sighed and took the 10 before running into Pop's diner leaving Jughead and Betty alone. Betty was still crying just softer, but Jughead simply looked mildly irritated.

The two sat there in silence, well, moderate silence, for five minutes before Jughead put out his cigarette and finally spoke up. "Jesus, princess what's got your panties all in a bunch?"

Betty looked up in surprise, still sniffling. "W-what?"

Jughead blew the last bit of smoke at her face, "You heard me, princess."

Betty looked down and cleared her throat, "I... I just, found out the guy I've been in love with for practically my whole life is dating my best friend."

Jughead looked into the windows of Pop's, and saw a young couple. One redhead and one brunette. "Who?" He scoffed, "Daphne in there?" Betty slowly nodded. Jughead looked unimpressed, "He's not worth your while. You need a real man, not some ignorant fool."

"What would you know about being a real man," Betty shot back, clearing her tears from her face.

This made the Jughead chuckle, "Wow, so the perfect princess has a sassy side."

Betty frowned at his condescending tone, "You don't know anything about me... and quit calling me princess."

Jughead smirked and leaned closer to her. "Make me, _princess,_ " He said tauntingly. Betty just glared at him, causing him to lean back against his bike, and laugh.

The pair heard the door of Pop's open as Jellybean came out with two milkshakes in her hands. Jughead grabbed one and took a sip before getting back on his motorcycle with Jellybean quickly following suit.

Jellybean gave Betty a quick smile before putting on her helmet, "See ya later, Betty."

Jughead gave her a smirk and a flirtatious wink, "Later, princess."

* * *

**Betty Cooper**

Betty shifted uncomfortably while she watched the two siblings drive away. Since when did Jughead Jones give a shit about her?

She heard the door to Pop's open again, but she didn't have to look to know who it was.

"B? Were you just talking to Jughead Jones?"

Betty nestled her head in her arms, "What does it matter to you?"

Veronica looked at her as if she had two heads. "Oh I don't know, maybe it's because he's a **GANG LEADER** and a **CRIMINAL**?"

"Leave me alone, V."

"Betty he's **dangerous**. You have no business talking to him."

Betty stood up and turned to face her so called best friend, "What don't you get about 'leave me alone'?" Betty spun back around before V could answer and started walking home.

_Some friends, huh._


	3. The Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty actively avoids her classmates. But in her attempts to avoid confrontation, she lands herself in a bit of hot water.

**Betty Cooper**

Betty sat on her bed, anxious to go to school. It was friday, and all she had to do was make it through the school day. She wore her everyday sweater and jeans so that when she looked in the mirror she saw normal everyday Betty Cooper. She heard her phone vibrate on her bed. She didn't need to look down to know who it was but she looked anyways.

_Archie Andrews._

Betty sighed and pressed decline.

"BETTY!" Her Mom called from downstairs, "ARCHIE'S HERE TO WALK YOU TO SCHOOL!"

She just groaned and laid back onto her bed, "TELL HIM TO LEAVE ME ALONE."

There was a pause before Betty heard her mom start coming up the stairs, "Betty? Did you just ask me to tell _Archie Andrews_  to go away?"

Betty kept her eyes trained on the cracks in her ceiling, "Yes, Mom. I'll walk to school myself today."

"... Is everything okay Elizabeth?"

"Yeah Mom, everything's fine." Betty stood up, checked her hair and sighed dejectedly, "Just tell Archie I'll be out soon."

The walk to school was quiet. Quiet and awkward. Quiet, awkward, and uncomfortable. The two walked side by side as always. Except this time it was Archie staring at Betty and Betty staring straight forward.

"Betty I-"

Betty didn't even grace him with a look, "Just leave it be Archie."

Archie reached out and grabbed her arm, "I didn't know you'd be so hurt by it, I thought you'd be happy for us. Please believe me."

Betty pulled her arm back, "I believe you Archie. And I _am_ happy for you," she semi-lied. Archie started to smile, "But-" she continued, "I'm still not over it." His smile faltered. "Just, please, leave me alone."

Betty turned around and kept walking to school, she knew Archie was walking not too far behind, but he didn't try to talk to her again.

When Betty got to her locker, it was decorated with flowers and hearts all over. There were balloons and even streamers hanging from the ceiling. Betty opened opened her locker, surprised to find that it was not decorated with an equal amount of vigor. Instead there was a white envelope and a bouquet of flowers.

_To Betty, From V_

Betty just rolled her eyes and shoved the letter in her backpack.

"B?" came a voice from behind her. Betty stifled a groan and turned around, coming face to face with the one and only Veronica Lodge, "Can we just talk?"

Betty dug her nails into her palms and smiled sweetly at her 'bestfriend', "There's really nothing to talk about." She turned back to her locker to grab her books for the day.

"Betty c'mon-"

Betty spun around on her heel unable to keep her emotions in check, "You  _KNEW_ , V. You  _knew_  how much I liked him. You  _knew_  that I had feelings for him, you knew my _whole_ past with him, you knew everything. _Every single detail._ You knew how I felt, but you still went after him, and you're still dating him, and that's not going to change. And before you say anything, YES. I'm very happy for you two. _NO,_ I'm not just going to get over it. So, really, V, I don't think we have anything to talk about."

V shut her mouth dejectedly.

"Yeah," she huffed, "That's what I thought."

:)

Betty had managed to avoid the two for the rest of the day, she even sat with  _Cheryl_ during lunch. But come Chemistry class, 8th period, and Betty couldn't bring herself to enter the classroom. It was either face Archie and all of his attempts to 'fix things' or ruin her perfect attendance. Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped through the door, just as the bell rang.

She looked at the table where she usually sat, and Archie looked up at her hopefully. Betty swallowed and looked around, choosing to sit in the only other empty seat, which so happened to be next to The Serpent King, Jughead Jones himself.

Betty slowly strode towards the back table, ignoring Archie's begging look as she passed by. Sighing, she placed her backpack down on the floor and sat down, ignoring the smirk very present on Jughead's face and doing the same with Archie's look of shock when she sat down next to the most feared man at Riverdale.

"Hey princess," he grinned cheekily. "What brings you here?"

"Shut up."

"Oooo," Jughead held his fist to his mouth, "There's that sass I've grown so accustomed to." 

"Shut  _up_ ," she hissed at him, crossing her arms defensively.

"Jeez, Princess. Who pissed in your coffee this morning? Was it _Daphne_?" Jughead looked at Betty with a faux sympathetic look.

" _SHUT UP!_ "

Jughead raised his hands up in mock submission.

"Miss Cooper!" Betty's head shot to the front of the room and her cheeks turned bright red. "It's not like you to be disruptive of class."

"I'm sorry Miss Anderson, it won't happen again!" 

"See that it doesn't."

Betty turned to glare at Jughead, but the Serpent was facing forward with his hands clasped on the desk as if he was paying attention. Betty dug her nails into her palms in frustration and turned to look at the board, but she didn't miss the serpent's smug glances her way. 

She tried paying attention, she really did. But all she could hear was the atonall _'Wah Wah Wahhhh'_ of Miss Anderson's nasally voice. Periodic Table of this, sodium hydroxide that. 

The seconds ticked by agonizingly slow, but some way, somehow, Betty edured. She watched as the second hand clicked slowly around the clock. She endured the smug looks from the serpent next to her and the pleading looks from the bulldog in front of her. She even listened to the teacher drone on about addition reaction. Her hands were clenched so tightly, she was honestly surprised that her hands weren't bleeding.

The bell rang after 50 minutes of agonizing uncomfortable tension. Betty released her hands and quickly snatched up her backpack before making a beeline for the door. She was walking so fast, she almost didn't have time to stop herself from running face first into Archie Andrew's chest.

"Betty, I just want to talk about this..."

Betty swallowed and collected herself. "Get out of my way, Archie." She said as maturely as possible.

"No I-"

"Archie!"

"BETTY!" His voice was strained and desperate, "Please! I just want to talk to you!"

"Hey 'Ariel'," a voice snarled from behind Betty. Both the teenagers turned to the source of the voice, Jughead Jones. "She clearly doesn't want to talk to you, and I've got places to be. So either move your ass or I'll move it for you."

Archie backed away from Betty, allowing the Serpent King to walk between them. Seeing her opportunity, Betty hurriedly followed the serpent out the door.

"Thank you," she said quietly, running up next to him.

"For what," Jughead replied without even glancing down at her or at least slowing down.

"For saving me," she quickened her pace to keep up.

Jughead took a cigarette out of his pocket and went to light it, "I didn't save you for shit. He was in my way. I have places to go."

Becky stopped and sighed. Giving Veronica the perfect opportunity to blindside her.

"Hey Betty!" She said extremely excitedly, "Y'know we're going to Pop's right now... If you'd like to come?"

Betty looked for her human shield, but he was, unfortunately, abandoning her. She took a deep breath and turned back to her 'best friend', "No thanks, Veronica."

"Betty, C'mon! I know you're upset but-"

"Actually," Betty interrupted, "I'm not upset!" she lied. _"Think, Betty, Think!"_ she watched as Jughead continued to walk down the hall towards the doors. "I already have plans!" She spat out hurriedly, "With Jughead!"

The serpent down the hall stopped dead in his tracks. 

"Really?" Veronica asked, making a face.

Betty straightened her back, "Yes,  _Really._ He's... taking me for a ride on his motorcycle!"

Jughead choked on his cigarette.

Veronica looked at her skeptically. "Sure, Betts..."

Betty huffed and brushed past the girl walking straight up to the Serpent. "Let's go." She forcefully grabbed his leather jacket and dragged him out the door.

:)

As soon as the two were out the door Jughead ripped the blonde off his jacket angrily. "What the  _HELL_ was that?" He threw his lit cigarette to the floor, "Look, I don't give a _damn_ about your little high school drama problems, so don't drag me into that shit!" He stuck his finger in Betty's face, only to pull back and sigh when she flinched.

"You really fucked me over right there. Just like a  _princess_ to do shit without considering how if affects other people," He scowled, but didn't get in Betty's face again.

"How did _I_ fuck you over?!" Betty yelled incredulously.

"Jesus Christ! Because If I  _don't_ take you with me, The Serpent's will target you, and if I  _do_ take you the Bulldogs will both of us. You just put  _yourself_ in danger, and now I've got to explain why I'm letting some  _Northsider_ push me around!"

"Well I'm  _SO SORRY_ that I inconvenienced  _THE GREAT SERPENT KING JUGHEAD JONES!"_  

The Serpent King glared at the blonde for a second before turning to his bike. He threw her his helmet, making her squeal in surprise. 

"Well?" He scowled, mounting his bike. "Get on."

"But I- I didn't-... you-? I.. But-"

He didn't let her articulate her thoughts, " _PRIN-CESS._ Lets  _ **go**_. I don't have all day y'know."

From the corner of her eye, Betty saw Veronica watching them in the window. Swallowing her pride, Betty took a deep breath and briskly mounted the motorcycle behind Jughead and held lightly onto his waist.

"Go slow!" she begged, already clinging to his waist.

"Not how this works, Princess."

The engine revved loudly, and Betty let out a shriek as Jughead took off down the road. She instinctively wrapped her arms tighter around his waist. Not that he really minded  ** _SO_** much, but Jughead Jones didn't do feelings. Nor did he hang out with privileged white girls from the Northside. 

:)

Betty didn't know where they were going, all she knew was that her surroundings started becoming more and more unfamiliar. The roads turned dirty and cracked, and the big fancy houses she was so used to slowly devolved into run down apartment buildings and trailer parks. She was finally able to fully look around when they came to a skidding halt. She looked up at the big flashy letters above her,  _The Whyte Wyrm_.

"Jughead?" She looked around nervously, "What are we doing at your bar?"

"Where'd you think I'd take you?" He scoffed, parking his motorcycle. "I told you, I've got places to be."

" _This_ is places?!" Betty got off the motorcycle and took the helmet off. 

"I've got business to attend to," Jughead shrugged and dismounted. "I  _am_ a King y'know," he added cockily.

"You couldn't have taken me home?" 

"I don't know where you live," Jughead said dismissively.

"You could have asked."

"Didn't feel like it."

"What am I supposed to do??"

"Don't know. Don't care."

"God! You are-" Jughead looked at her expectantly, making her even more furious. Betty leaned in with a stern look on her face, "You could have taken me  _anywhere_ but  _here!_ I'm not a serpent! I don't even _live_ on the southside! You talk about 'safety', isn't taking me here the most dangerous place you could have taken me?!"

"No." 

"Ugh, can't you just take me home?"

"No."

"Is that all you can say?" she yelled incredulously.

"What I  _said,_  was that I have business to attend to," He said irritatingly calm.

"What _business_?" She threw her hands up, " _Drugs?! Gang shit?? 'Serpent Stuff'?"_ she threw up air quotations for emphasis, but Jughead didn't seem fazed.

"All of the above and more, princess." Jughead lit a cigarette and put it between his teeth. "I might just torture some people when we're done with this conversation."

Betty snatched the cig from his mouth, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it. "You- You... You-"

"Spit it out," Jughead taunted, pulling another smoke from his pocket and lighting it.

"YOU LOWLIFE! YOU.. YOU CRIMINAL! DRUGGIE! THUG!! SNAKE!!!"

"And?" Jughead asked, getting mildly irritated. He took a drag from his cigarette and started towards the doors. " _You're_ the one who basically threw herself onto  _my_  bike because of an _'awkward encounter'_ _._  You didn't have to come along. I'm not going to go out of my way for you _or_ your problems,  _princess_. Nor am I going to change how I am because I suddenly met a 'good little Northsider girl'. This isn't a TV Show where I meet some insignificant girl and change my backwards life because _'I see the error in my ways'._ Life's more complicated than what you think."

He turned to the blonde and bent down a little so they were face to face, "I am what life made me, and this is where you learn that the Southside's a lot different than what you're used to, and not everything's so black and white, right or wrong, good or evil." He stood up straight again, "Hate to pop your protective bubble, Glinda, but it's time to wake up and see the real world."

Betty's mouth opened and closed in shock while Jughead leaned against the door cockily, smoking his cigarette. Seeing the Serpent's smug expression, the Northside girl growled in frustration and marched off down the sidewalk.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," Jughead called back at her in a sing songy voice as he walked through the doors.

"GO TO HELL!"

"We're already there, princess."

The Northside princess screamed with fury and marched off, trying to get as far away from the Serpent King as she could.

Betty marched down the street in pure anger. She dug her nails into her palms as she wrathed,  _The nerve!_ _The gall!_ _The **audacity**!  _Betty didn't know how long she had been storming off, but as her anger quelled, the girl realized that nothing around her looked familiar. The Whyte Wyrm was long gone and Betty realized how unfamiliar she truly was with her surroundings. She was on the Southside for the first time in her life. Alone. Without the one person who would have been able to protect her.

And for the first time today, Betty fell out of her little world, and realized that (pompous asshole though he was) without Jughead, she was

absolutely,

                    positively,

                                        royally, 

**SCREWED.**

 


	4. The Southside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty's stuck on the southside without Jughead.

**Betty POV**

Betty had been wandering the Southside for what felt like forever, but with every corner that she turned she kept getting more and more lost.  _"I just need to get back to the Whyte Wyrm,"_ she thought to herself determinedly.  _"Think Betty, THINK! Retrace your steps..."_

But no matter how much Betty 'retraced her steps' she just kept going in circles. Not looking where she was going, Betty ran face first into the tall serpent boy she understood was known as, "Sweet Pea". Why did all the serpents have such weird names?

"Watch where you're going," Sweet Pea snarled, causing Betty to shrink back a little. She looked up at the three serpents standing before her, none of which looked very amused.

"Hey," One of the serpents behind Sweet Pea, Betty knew him as Fangs, looked her up and down, "You're that prissy little Northsider. What're _you_ doing on the Southside?"

"My  _name_ is Betty," she scowled at the serpents.

"I don't remember asking," Fangs growled back. "Now I won't ask again,  _what are you doing on the Southside?"_

"I-I... I'm lost," Betty stammered out.

The three serpents laughed. "Lost!" Fangs scoffed, "Lost isn't gonna cut it."

"She sure is a pretty little thing, isn't she?" Sweet Pea took a step forward, looking at Betty as though she was a piece of meat.

Betty took a half-step back, "I-If you could just tell me how to get back, I'll happily be on my way."

The serpents laughed again. "See..." began Sweet Pea, "We can't just let you go. Northsiders can't just come gallivanting around the Southside like they own the place."

Toni, the third serpent stepped around Sweet Pea, "Down boy," she smiled, but Betty had a feeling she wasn't there to help. "This seems like the job for a lady."

Fangs grinned, "Been awhile since I've seen a good catfight." 

Toni cracked her neck and Betty took another step backwards. "Trust me boys, this will be over veryyy quickly."

* * *

**Jughead POV**

Jughead sat in the Whyte Wyrm with a beer in his hand, talking business with Tall Boy and his father. Betty had been gone much longer than he expected, but he had more important business to attend to. It wasn't his fault the girl had no sense of self preservation, right? She probably just called one of her preppy friends to come pick her up.

Jughead snapped back to reality with his dad calling his name.

"Jughead? Jughead are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. So, the ghoulies are taking over the western bridge?" 

Tall Boy nodded as Jughead took another sip from his beer, "We've caught them shooting up there and tagging the place on multiple occasions. There's just no way for us to keep them away. The western bridge is too far and it's right on the edge of their territory."

Jughead sat in thought. "Drive them off when we catch them there, and paint over their graffiti. Scare them off and beat them up if necessary, but I want to avoid killing them. I won't risk an all out gang war over a bridge."

Tall Boy nodded again, "And we've got a massive arms deal set up with the Toledo Serpents going down Saturday. They want you to handle it yourself."

Jughead sighed and turned to FP, "Can you ask them if you and Mom can handle it?"

FP nodded, "Sure, but they seemed pretty intent on you doing it. I'll remind you, Jughead, that though you're respected around here, you're still considered new to the other Serpent groups. You need to show them you're strong and capable of leading. You're only 17, I didn't become leader until I was well into adulthood."

"Yeah Dad," Jughead sighed, "I know. I'll see if I can clear my schedule Saturday to handle the arms deal."

FP and Tallboy smiled. "Good," Tallboy said gruffly, "Well, we'll leave you be now."

Jughead said goodbye and downed the rest of his beer. Signaling to the bartender that he wanted another, Jughead let his mind wander back to the annoying blonde who still hadn't returned to the Whyte Wyrm.

* * *

**Betty POV**

Betty swallowed nervously as Toni got closer and closer. She backed up further and further until she felt herself pressed against a fence.  _"Well Betty,"_ she thought to herself,  _"This is it. This is the end."_ Closing her eyes and turning her face away, Betty braced herself for the beating about to come.

" _ **WAITTTT!!!**_ " came a voice in the distance. Betty looked towards the source of the voice only to see a familiar face. The little girl came to a panting stop between the three serpents and Betty.

"Go away Jellybean," Toni said, irritated at the young girl.

"It's JB now, and I won't let you hurt Betty!"

Sweet Pea laughed, "Jellybean, do you  _know_ this Northsider?"

"Yeah! I do! And she's nice!" Jellybean yelled back.

"Jellybean, this isn't your business." 

"Yes it is! I'm a southsider!"

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, "You're not even a Serpent."

"But my brothers the Serpent King! And my father was the Serpent King before him! And my mother was the leader of the Serpents in Toledo! Serpent blood runs in my veins! And you can bet your ass that when I'm old enough, I'll be a serpent too!"

"The point is... you're not a Serpent _now_ , and this is Serpent business. We can't just let Northsiders gallivant around the Southside." Toni crossed her arms. "Now _MOVE_ Jellybean, or JB, or whatever you want to be called."

"It's JB," she repeated, "And I won't."

Sweet Pea stepped forward and grabbed Jellybean's arm, pulling her to side, "Listen here, Baby Snake. If you want to be a serpent someday, you can't be sympathetic to Northsiders."

"Let go of me!" Jellybean growled trying to wrench her arm from Sweet Pea's grasp. "I'm not a Northside sympathizer! Betty just hasn't done anything wrong!"

"She's trespassing," snarled Toni, stepping towards Betty again. Betty braced herself.

 **"WAITT!** **"** Jellybean cried. "Jughead won't like it if you hurt his plaything!" She yelled out desperately. Toni froze and Betty looked and the 12 year old incredulously.

"What??" Toni asked, dumbfounded. 

Jellybean used the shock value of what she said to pull free of Sweet Pea's grasp and put herself between Betty and Toni again. "She's under the protection of the Serpent King! She belongs to Jughead!"

"I don't belo- " Betty opened her mouth to protest, but Jellybean stomped her foot down on Betty's, signaling her to shut up.

"Jughead's not gonna be happy if you beat up his uhh... _amusement_ ," Jellybean coughed.

The four teens jaws dropped. Betty turned beet red. The audacity of this child! To imply that she and Jughead... just the thought of it made her want to puke! kind of...

The three serpents started cackling.

"So," Toni started, trying to catch her breath, "You're Jughead's little whore?"

Before Betty could tell them that the little brat was lying, Jellybean piped up again, "How else would I know who she is?"

The three teens looked at each other. Then at Jellybean. Then at Betty. Finally, Sweet Pea shrugged, "Fine, I don't care. She can leave."

"At least his majesty's finally getting some," Fangs chuckled as the three of them walked away.

:)

When the three of them were finally gone, Jellybean turned to Betty. "Sorry 'bout that Betty," she said sheepishly.

"Wasn't there any other way to get them to leave me alone without implying that I'm fucking your brother?" Betty asked, crossing her arms.

Jellybean at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Honestly? No." Betty looked at her in confusion. "The only way that you were gonna leave here unscathed was if you were under the protection of my brother or another Serpent. The only reason you would be under my brother's protection would be if you guys were... involved, and Juggie doesn't do girlfriends, so the most plausible excuse was that you guys were... y'know."

"Oh," Betty stated simply, still red in the face. 

"Do you need help getting home?" Jellybean asked.

"If you could take me to the Whyte Wyrm I'd be very appreciative."

"Yeah I can do that," Jellybean smiled softly, "I have some stuff to explain to Jughead anyways." She looked at her feet sheepishly.

* * *

**Jughead POV**

The door of the Whyte Wyrm swung open loudly causing Jughead to look up from his drink and his conversation. He watched as a slightly shaken Betty and a nervous Jellybean walked through. He saw Jellybean go up to a man and start speaking with him. Soon after, the man directed the two in his direction.

"Juggie!" Jellybean exclaimed, running up to her brother. She shot a look at the man Jughead was talking to, "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to my brother."

The man looked at Jughead who dismissed him with a wave of his hand. The man nodded and got up, and Jellybean quickly stole his seat.

"SO! Juggie..." she nervously smiled at her brother who cocked an eyebrow in suspicion. Jellybean took a deep breath in before starting her story, "I.... _kinda maybe sorta implied to toni sweetpea and fang that you were fucking betty but it's okay because i did it to stop them from beating her up and really it's your fault for leaving her alone on the southside but now betty's under your protection and people think you're fucking her but don't worry because they know you're not dating they just think you guys have casual sex."_

Jughead blinked at his sister, once, twice, three times. "You,  _ **WHAT**_?????"

"I'm sorry!" Jellybean flinched, "It was the only way to keep her from getting beaten up!"

Jughead pinched the bridge of his nose, "First of all, I never want to hear my little sister talk about sex ever again. Second of all, do you two KNOW how big of a mess you've just got me in??"

Jellybean scowled, "She was going to get beaten up! What was I supposed to do?"

"Not that!" He snapped. "Jesus, what am I supposed to do about this?"

"It's your own fault really," Jellybean snapped back, "If you hadn't left her  _alone_ on the  _Southside_ then maybe I wouldn't have had to do what I did!"

Jughead let out a low growl, causing a chill to spread through Betty's body. " _ **I**_ didn't leave her alone.  _ **She**_ stormed off after I  _told_ her not to! I am not at fault for  _any_ of this!"

"Well, you were being an insufferable ass!" Betty scoffed at him, crossing her arms. 

Jughead took another swig of beer. " _You_ were the one who invited herself along, _princess,_ " he sneered. "Thanks to you two I've got even more on my plate now. Not only am I still dealing with integrating the Serpents into Riverdale, but now I have to keep up this stupid facade." 

"What?!" exclaimed Betty, panicked. " _No one,_ and I mean,  _ **NO ONE**_  at school can think that we're fucking! Do you know what that would do to my reputation?"

Jughead leaned back, unbothered. "What should I care? You should have thought about that before you marched off into the streets alone and hopped on the back of my motorcycle in front of half the school. I'm not saying that we've got to be a couple, but as far as any of the Serpents are concerned, _you're mine._ And Will act as such."

"Act as such?" she asked incredulously. "How am I supposed to act?"

"It means that you're not allowed to fuck or date other people," he stated plainly.

"WHAT?" Betty all but shrieked. "Why? We're not a thing! We're not even a **_fake_** thing! We're  _ **fake fucking!**_ Why does that mean I don't get to do what I want?"

Jughead rolled his eyes, "Because. Since you're considered _mine,_ you have to  _act_ like it. I don't know about other guys, but I don't like to share what's mine."

The possessive tone in his voice sent excited shivers down Betty's spine.  _"What is wrong with me?"_ she thought to herself.

The Serpent King stood up, signifying that the conversation was now over. Sighing, Jughead grabbed his helmet off the counter and threw it at Betty. "C'mon. I'm taking you home." Betty just nodded silently and followed him out the door.


End file.
